Screening for diabetes-related issues key

CORPUS CHRISTI - If you have Type 2 diabetes, can your blood sugar levels be too tightly controlled for your own good?

The answer might be yes but that doesn't mean that slacking off on your diabetes control is any better. It may have more to do with the kind of control you want. Maintaining a balance is the secret.

This was brought into clear focus about five years ago following the results of a treatment study. Researchers tried to discover if intensive blood sugar lowering treatments reduced the risk of nonfatal heart attacks after years of having Type 2 diabetes. Before the study could be finished, it was forced to stop. While there was a lower chance of nonfatal heart attack in general, those who did experience a heart attack were more likely to die.

Any person with diabetes has roughly the same probabilities of having a first heart attack as a non-diabetic who already has experienced one. Diabetes and heart disease are flip sides of the same coin.

As we and our diabetes age together, there is greater potential for damage to our cardiovascular system. Thickening of the inner layers of diabetic arteries may result from many causes, such as poorly treated high blood pressure, years of wide fluctuations in blood sugar levels, smoking and indiscriminate eating habits. Lower levels of vitamin D also are believed to make artery walls more susceptible to damage over time.

Some diabetics may think that if they maintain excellent blood sugar control over time, they will not have long term problems. This is a fallacy. The benefit of improved blood sugar control is a reduced risk of problems, not a guarantee they won't happen. This means a diabetic must practice smarter preventive care and screening for long term complications. Catching these problems early in their development is the best way to either slow them down or even stop them from wreaking havoc in your life or that of a loved one.

Having annual retinal examinations is essential to minimizing visual loss. I had background diabetic retinopathy more than 30 years ago, had it treated aggressively, improved my diabetes control and have maintained my vision ever since. In fact at my last eye checkup, my ophthalmologist told me he could not see any obvious evidence I even had diabetes based on how good my retinas looked.

An annual measurement of the amount of protein in the urine is important to detect the beginning stages of diabetic kidney disease. I've had those first stages for three decades without any progression. I managed my high blood pressure, got my diabetes in better control and now have stable kidney function.

Tingling sensations in my legs also went away after I got my diabetes in better control and have not returned.

I was very close to a heart attack but because of routine screening discovered the problem and got treatment to open up a narrowed blood vessel in my heart. This was a result of screening for problems before they had a chance to occur.

Every diabetic has their own path to follow. But getting screened for common diabetes related problems is the only way to meet them head on before they can hurt you. The empowered diabetic prevents problems. The unknowing diabetic invites problems to happen to them. Which type are you?